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Diyu
Umohs (Class: Daemondactylia) Filling the caverns of Diyu with their unholy din and fluttering of wings, a multitude of winged beasts have evolved in the world beneath Earth. The most abundant of them are the demon-like umohs, a group of winged creatures occupying the niches normally taken by flying insects and bats, with a general body-shape not unlike beaked dragonflies. Their obvious and extreme derivity from their ancestors has made their classification difficult; they possess a notochord, making them chordates, but they lack a hard skeleton, instead have bones made of cartilage. Their skin is covered in thick scales and they lack eyes completely, more likely having never evolved them more than they disappeared over time. Nostrils are located on the underside of the animals and large external ear-holes located on the neck. Large beak-like head sheaths cover their mouths and do not seem to possess teeth. There are a few more peculiar aspects of their anatomy put them far from the development of extant vertebrates; their jaw opens upward, with the lower jaw set in place. They also effectively possess five limbs, as they use both their wings and tail in terrestrial locomotion. A tentative ancestry has been placed between them and vetulicolians, but of course this is not set in stone, as they little resemble them after half a billion years. Just over a dozen species are known from Diyu, ranging in size from tiny fluttering creatures to large flightless waders. Melon-Baller Umoh (Longornis infernis) Possibly the most feared predator in Diyu, these flying piranhas made fieldwork in Diyu hell for spelunkers as swarms of dozens attacked en masse to strip the flesh from their bones. They had no fear of humans, having never encountered them before and little could be done to discourage the ravenous hordes; having no eyes shining flares and lights did nothing, and fighting back only helped to excite them and drive their bloodlust. Only later was it discovered that they hunted almost entirely based on echolocation and sonar jammers helped to avoid further casualties, as it confused the animals for short periods, allowing explorers time to escape. A flock of melon-ballers descends upon the half-eaten carcass of a skewer umoh, while a velvet crab hastily retreats. Although individually harmless and vulnerable, when within a group they will become a force to be reckoned with. Sometimes hundreds of the flesh-eating animals will descend upon a weakened animal, and within the furious flapping mass of leathery wings and hellish cacophony of shrieking and clicking will become no more than a skeleton. Blunt, meat-shearing jaws will carve off chunks and the smell of blood will drive surrounding umoh into a frenzy. Fortunately, swarms of such a magnitude are rare and more often only group together in a few dozen or so, and lone individuals are not uncommon as well. Only growing about the size of a pigeon, they are themselves hunted by a multitude of predators. Larger arthropods, mole-worms, and even some species of carnivorous algae are among the many carnivores known to feed upon them. Although capable of preying upon large animals within a group, they are more often known to feed upon smaller animals, such as pebblers, or scavenge carcasses; their sense of smell is quite acute and they are able to detect carrion from miles away. The large beak carves away smooth balls of meat, earning them their name. This is not their true mouth however, and within this sheath are smaller jaws which help to tear food into even smaller pieces and then drag it into the throat. As they lack eyes, they navigate the caverns mainly by echolocation; large external ear-holes picking up their high-pitched chirps and clicks to find prey in the darkness. Within a group they must time and tune their sonar as not to interfere with the clicks of other umohs; instead, they secrete scent trails that allows other umoh behind them to simply follow the one in front, allowing them to act as one coordinated unit. When resting they will cling upside-down to the ceiling similar to bats. The melon-baller is covered in thick scales that help protect its skin from other umoh when feeding, but otherwise are of little use against predators. The scales are spread out near the end of the tail to be used as a rudder in flight, and a support when walking. Their colouration is a pale, dull colour, as they cannot see and have no use for elaborate display structures; of course this begs the question, why do they have a bioluminescent tail-tip, as they clearly cannot see it. The glow may help jetters and other animals to see them however, but for exactly what reason is not known. Perhaps it is simply an evolutionary quirk that is neither helpful nor unhelpful. Melon-baller umoh breed at any period of the year (no seasons or day-night cycles in Diyu prohibit otherwise). and within flocks males and females may sporadically mate at any time. Females will deposit the sticky eggs on cave walls, where the dozen or so bead-sized orbs will develop for around a week or so before hatching out into worm-like larvae and slithering into the water. They are small limbless creatures for the first year of their life, living ectoparasitically on larger aquatic animals as they grow their wings and scales. After around a year of feeding wings will begin to protrude from the larvae and they will begin leaping from the water to escape predators or perhaps attempt flight. Within two years they will reach their adult form and spend almost their entire life in the air (they are able to walk on the tips of their wings and tail to locomote on the ground however). Gnomes (Order: Vultopodida) Possibly the most peculiar clade of animals within Diyu (which is definitely saying a lot), they are extremely bizarre creatures not even remotely resembling anything on the surface. However, it did not take long for their true identity to be revealed, their boneless mobile tentacles, sensitive colour-changing skin and hard beak mouths betray a far-away ancestry from stem- cephalopods. Any resemblance to the aquatic swimming creatures of the oceans is completely absent however; most obviously they have become terrestrial animals, incapable of swimming. Tentacles have become adapted into weight-bearing limbs, giving them a bipedal upright stance disturbingly similar to humans (or penguins); while lacking true bones, they are able to support their weight out of water with a combination of cartilaginous supports and a specialized gladius. The siphon - while still present - is no longer used for locomotion, instead having a purely respiratory purpose. A third tentacle has developed from the mantle and is used for manipulate food and other objects. They retain large eyes which are important as they communicate primarily with visual signals, mainly via bioluminescent markings on their skin. The ability to interpret such signals, as well as their social behavior, suggests an intelligence unseen in other Diyu endemics. Other common names for them include the Walk-topus, Gezora, and on one occasion "those goddamn face-pissing guys". Common Walk-topus (Miroteuthis mirabilis) An iconic denizen of Diyu and one of the most peculiar animals on the planet, it can often be seen wandering the stony labyrinth in small herds searching for sustenance. This curious animal reaches approximately 60-80cm (2-2.6ft) in height, with males usually reaching a slightly larger size. They are a favourite among Diyu spelunkers, as their curious and peaceful nature makes them easily approachable; however, startling them will activate their predator defense, a repulsive-smelling liquid sprayed from a gland above the mouth that burns if it comes into contact with skin. As many an explorer has discovered, this substance also has an adhesive property and doesn't wash off clothing. Still, it's much better than many other Diyu organisms, of which the common walk-topus is often prey of; indeed the soft-bodied mollusk is a staple in the diet of many predators. The walk-topus itself is an omnivorous animal, leaning towards herbivore/fungivore; neotodes and small pebblers are the most common animals consumed and they seem so show a preference for more colourful fungi. As with basically all Diyu animals, they are cathemeral (owing of course to the obvious lack of day-night cycles), and sleeping is accomplished with one or two animals standing guard for short periods before another walk-topus wakes up to allow one to sleep. It should be noted that walk-topus like all invertebrates, do not have eyelids similar to vertebrates, but do possess a structure convergent on the nictitating membrane, which serves to clean/moisten their eyes yet still able to watch for predators. The common walk-topus is easily recognizable by its normally pale teal skin and a dart-shaped flap at the top of its head, which is believed to have developed from a remanent of its ancestors' fins. The colourful markings need the tip of the mantle and flap crudely form the shape of a frowning face, but the animals' true face is of course near the bottom of the mantle. The "eyes" of the face are specialized bioluminescent organs used for communication common to most gnome species; they are able to rapidly flash a multitude of different colours and patterns to tell another walk-topus if there's a threat, its mood, if there is food nearby, that it wants to mate, or some other message. The legs are relatively short but they are surprisingly able to move quickly for short distances in a fast waddling sort of manner. Like other vultopodids, they cannot swim and will quickly drown if submerged in water for an extended period. Their skin is tough and comparable to the frog genus Bufo, in that it has thick and water-retaining as an adaption for land living. They spend their entire lives out of the water and do not even copulate in water. Females lay around half a dozen golf ball-sized eggs in a moist location and watch over them until they hatch into tiny versions of adults. For the first few weeks of life they cling to their mother and feed off her skin secretions. After 3-5 weeks, they begin to start walking on their own, and are able to feed themselves, but still remain with their mother until near adulthood (around 9 months). Males do not usually play a part in caring for the young and generally show no particular bias towards related herd members or strangers. By Troll Man Category:Squids Category:Other worlds Category:Fandom